Technology & Trends - Dome cameras

As the technology in omnidirectional cameras continues to improve, they are becoming increasingly more affordable to a wider segment of the video surveillance market Just a few years ago, omnidirectional cameras were a novelty. Today, however, this technology has taken the leap to the mainstream. Think about how ubiquitous Google’s Street View is, and you can gain a better idea of the power of omnidirectional cameras. Even consumers are starting to see many forms of omn...

ISE’s research shows that healthcare facilities & hospitals security programmesto ward off determined attackers going after specific targets A well-known security axiom posits that an effective security programme can discourage would-be attackers, causing them to move on in search of softer targets. But it doesn’t always work that way. Take healthcare facilities such as hospitals, for example. Prospective attackers with no particular target in mind may see...

Access control now includes a strong focus on the data integration side ofthe business, as showcased at this year’s ISC West When the category of physical security emerged many decades ago, it was literally all about locks, hardware and creating barriers such as fences to keep people out. Fast forward to ISC West 2016 in Las Vegas this week, where the focus is on intelligent solutions, smart data, cloud-based access control and incorporating audio, video and a wide r...

The disaster training exercise took place at four sites, with the primary locationbeing a disused power station in Kent (Image credit: London Fire Brigade) Europe's biggest-ever disaster simulation provided a test to evaluate London’s ability to "detect, prevent and if necessary to withstand, handle and recover from disruptive challenges." Exercise Unified Response replicated the aftermath of a tower block falling into Waterloo Station, a transport hub on the south bank...

Energy efficiency extends beyond a company’s running costs vs. its carbonfootprint, to using security technological intelligently to the company’senvironmental advantage Even as manufacturers are becoming greener and innovation is reducing our industry’s carbon footprint , is there more we could be doing? Can we adapt our general operational methods to be smarter and help save the planet? Are we learning from other industries, do we absorb things quickly...

The established security distribution channel is being disrupted by a new trend towardsspecialist distributors – who offer more a more focused range of products andsupport services In the last 10 years a lot has changed within UK security distribution, but on the surface everything would appear to be the same. The top two distributors remain the same, despite creditors at one and talk of a looming sale at another. However, they’re operating with a slightly reduced...

The PASS guidelines don’t just point to specific technologies; they address security issues and help guide school administrators to make their schools safer and more secure From K-12 to college campuses, schools need integrated solutions and proactive measures to lessen the potential of active shooters while targeting general loss prevention and security. The good news is that technology is available to address nearly every threat and challenge, and systems integrato...

Starlight camera technology is redefining low-light surveillance to new levels Starlight cameras are the latest products security companies are adding to their product line-ups, each camera boasting the most comprehensive ability to make darkness visible. While low-light surveillance capabilities have been around on the market for some time, starlight camera technology is redefining low-light surveillance to new levels. Sourcesecurity.com spoke to manufacturers to discuss this...

NCS4’s research has mainly been on professional sports venues, but they alsodevelop best practices for all levels of sports – including high schools and colleges Some of the most profound changes in the way sporting events are secured have come about since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. A realisation that stadiums could be a target for terrorists has transformed sports security into a highly sophisticated profession that works closely with local and n...

Key control technology and guard tour systems provide a ready-made solution for healthcare organisations to enhance their security & asset management protocols Morse Watchmans, a leading provider of key management solutions explains how to provide top-notch security and manage asset with a combination of key control systems, asset lockers and guard tour systems. The shift from manpower resources to technology as a main line of defence is having a significant impact on...

An improving economy has resulted in additional spending on new and existing security initiatives in 2015, a solid year for the security industry. In addition, industry consolidation continued with the announcement of a few important mergers and acquisitions, which is further evidence of a vibrant and exciting time for our industry. As we move into 2016, we expect to see increased momentum for megapixel and 4K security products. The benefits of 4K are being realised by end users in outdoor cit...

The security environment is unsettling and continues to require focus and continuing vigilance to increase security measures. Sensors in active technology systems play an important role in situational awareness, which helps in identifying and responding to emergency situations.   As of October 2015, there were 45 school shootings in the United States. There continues to be grave concern about potential “lone wolf”-type events for individuals and businesses. Situati...

2015 has been a mixed year. There’s been aggressive competition in the security industry and difficult market conditions in some parts of Europe. The market has slowed down, but at the same time there is still a huge demand for new solutions coming into the market. As a manufacturer, we continue to see strong demand for innovative products. Overall, the industry has matured this year. The full HD market is established now, and more security professionals are now looking beyond that. 4K an...

The security market was affected by the economic situation in 2015. However, the penetration of thermal products for security applications continues, and FLIR is seeing strong growth. The company saw the use of thermal imaging cameras continue to develop in perimeter security. End users and integrators are experiencing excellent results by combining high-quality thermal cameras with video analytics. The take up of thermal cameras is increasing for security applications as the industry recognises...

We in the industry have talked about IT’s growing influence in security technology decision-making for a number of years. This year, we have seen the trend accelerate rapidly. Significant changes are occurring in data centre infrastructure technology, creating major disruption to the large enterprise server and storage providers. This is fundamentally changing the way the security industry thinks about IT. 2015 trend – emergence of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) One of the bi...

In the past year, ONVIF prepared the release of two new profiles, Profiles Q and A, which are currently in Release Candidate status, being fine-tuned by developers from member organisations. They are ONVIF’s fourth and fifth profiles, with Profile Q addressing easy set-up and advanced security features and Profile A encompassing daily tasks for access control. ONVIF also hit major milestones in 2015, reaching the 5,000-conformant product mark and maintaining a membership of more than 500 m...

2015 was positive for the security industry. In spite of economic volatility in many regions, the industry grew robustly throughout the year. Although a few countries went into recession, it did not negatively impact key players. We knew cameras with multiple sensors would do well; however, the rate at which these devices increased in availability was somewhat unexpected. The Avigilon HD Multisensor brings increased value because it uses multiple independently adjustable sensors for wide covera...

Hikvision USA enjoyed tremendous success in 2015, thanks in part to the continued growth of the security industry. As we see a broader variety of vertical markets showing an increasing need for video surveillance, security vendors must be versatile in their product offering. The products themselves must be highly scalable and must provide high performance at a competitive price. Hikvision has been able to accomplish all of these things with a product suite that includes high definition analogu...

The proportion of failed ATM attacks is more than 50%, but the collateraldamage is high and growing ATM security providers and products can take various countermeasures to mitigate attacks on ATMs. The key is to detect an attack in its preparation phase. Speaking at ATM Security 2015 in London, Claudio Ferioli, head of physical security at Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, provided an overview of the current state of physical attacks on ATMs in Italy. As the largest bank in the...

IDIS was a new name in the security market in 2015, and we asked the company to comment on interesting trends in the market at year-end. Here is that discussion.    SourceSecurity.com: How did the economy affect the industry in 2015? Keith Drummond, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing, IDIS America: The surveillance market had been quite resilient as it relates to the overall economy over the 15 years I have been in the industry, and 2015 has been no different. It s...

A bright, high quality lens, a responsive high sensitivity sensor and great imageprocessing produce a good low light performance  If you’ve been to any surveillance trade show, or picked up an industry magazine in the past few years, you will have noticed that almost every camera manufacturer seems to be talking about low light. Some have specific, dedicated low light products with named technologies, while others claim low light capabilities across their whole prod...

Overall, 2015 was an interesting year for the security industry and Panasonic. We’ve seen some exciting advancements in surveillance technology, including a strong uptick in body-worn cameras for law enforcement. The transition to IP cameras continues; but with economic ups and downs, we also saw customers hanging on to existing systems longer than expected, so providing support and helping them migrate at their own pace will continue to be a priority for us. From a global perspective, the...

AMAG Technology provides an overview on its regional development and the current market trends in these regions. The integrated security solution provider speaks about the consolidation of the video market and the growing necessity to develop security solutions that address the needs of their customers. The overall economy positively impacted the North American security market in 2015 as AMAG Technology has experienced unprecedented growth as an organisation. On the international side, there ha...

The siliconisation of surveillance cameras has had a great impact on the security industry, especially this year. The cost of complex megapixel cameras has decreased dramatically as this functionality is now available on chips. The camera industry has gone from innovating on the camera’s performance and functionality to acting more like the PC OEM business, and this siliconisation is driving industry commoditisation. Commoditisation is levelling the competitive landscape as customers are...

We close a historic year for the video surveillance industry: HD security cameras dominate the market for the first time, while overall camera sales are growing even stronger than ever, as security customers are accelerating replacements, finally able to get HD CCTV. As of 2016, “4K” replaces “HD” as our industry’s code word for highest-resolution video. Trade show demos of 4K cameras are as common now as HD camera demos were in 2008.    4K technica...

SourceSecurity.com’s Expert Panel had a lot to say in 2015 on a variety of topics in our Roundtable discussions.   Not surprisingly, the discussion topics that have generated the most interest (in terms of how much visitor traffic they generated) are the same hot topics we hear about every day in the industry. Our very most-clicked-on Roundtable discussion in 2015 was about the impact of video on privacy rights. Other hot topics that made the Top-10 list of Roundtable d...

As 2015 comes to a close, it’s a good time to look back at how our industry has changed this year and what we can expect for 2016. Specifically in the area of video surveillance, the trend toward higher resolutions continued this year. Whereas a few years ago, 720p was the most popular resolution for HD cameras, 1080p has now become the standard choice, and even higher resolutions, such as 4K ultra HD cameras, are seeing increased sales. Integrators are also using a broader mix of cameras...

Technology can safeguard other motorists, and help highway authorities to communicate with wayward drivers to avoid accidents There has been a spate of accidents worldwide in which cars have been driven either knowingly or unwittingly against the flow of traffic and into oncoming vehicles. Existing and imminent technology from the security sector can prevent such occurrences, alerting responsive drivers to their error and safeguarding other motorists. I write this shortly af...

A lower bitrate reduces bandwidth andstorage requirements High definition and megapixel cameras provide more detailed images with more useful information, but this can come at a cost. The volume of data being transported and stored rises significantly. The bandwidth demand that this places on the network and the increase in required storage capacity adds significantly to the total IP system costs. The best place to reduce these costs is at the source – in the camera &nda...

Ethernet switches are often overlooked andsometimes deemed a cheap connectivity pointwith little to no importance The Ethernet switch is a critical link between cameras, network video recorders (NVRs) and computers that need access to video feeds. The Ethernet switch not only provides the data connectivity but often the power to the IP cameras via Power over Ethernet (PoE). Ethernet switches are the fundamental backbone of a Local Area Network (LAN) and the critical connectivi...